The South Dakota Constitution also contains provisions concerning special sessions of the Legislature. Section 3 of Article IV allows the Governor of South Dakota to convene a special session of the Legislature. Additionally, Section 31 of Article III allows for a special session to be convened by the presiding officers of both legislative houses upon the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house.

Vacancies

Under the state constitution, the Governor is responsible for appointing a replacement in the event a vacancy happens in the State Senate. There are no deadlines set in the state constitution to when the Governor has to fill the vacancy[10].

The South Dakota State Legislature has tried on more than one occasion, each time unsuccessfully, to persuade the state's voters to repeal term limits. The most recent such failed attempt was when Amendment J lost in 2008 by 75-25%.

The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2000.[11]

2010 census

Census data was delivered to South Dakota on February 11, 2011. The state's population grew 7.9 percent to 814,180, making it the 25th fastest-growing state in the country.[12] On October 24, 2011, the state legislature passed HB 1001, which was signed by Governor Dennis Daugaard on October 25, and precleared on January 19, 2012.[13]

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the South Dakota State Senate from 1992-2013.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor acts as President of the Senate. The President only votes in the case of a tie. The senate elects one member to serve as President pro tempore; this officer presides in the absence of the president, appoints committees, and assigns legislation to committee.

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the South Dakota State Senate for two years while the Republicans were the majority for 20 years. The South Dakota State Senate is one of 13 state senates that was Republican for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. South Dakota was under Republican trifectas for the final 19 years of the study.

Across the country, there were 541 Democratic and 517 Republican state senates from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.